is it dying? Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Imbricata Pendula'

I bought this young tree (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana 'Imbricata Pendula') beginning of November and have planted it in my sunniest south-facing spot (although there has hardy been any sun at all in this dark period of the year) on top of a small hill in the best soil and with excellent drainage, the soil is moist but not soaked.
When I bought it it had already a little browning here and there, but I didn't give it much importance at the time. But now I'm afraid it is dying as all of its greenery has turned brown. When I checked the main stem, it still has green under the bark, but the branches look like they are drying up.
Is there still any chance this small tree would resprout from the main stem ?

here's a picture of it when I bought it;

this is how it looks now;

a detail;

Doesn't look good. No, it won't re-grow from the main stem.

Resin

Thanks Resin! Sniff....:-(

I wonder if I have done something wrong or if it was already in a bad condition when I bought it,( it had already a little browning here and there) then I could at least complain to the grower who sold it to me. It was quite pricey!

Did you get any cold weather between when you planted it and now? If you got a cold snap before it had a chance to get established (particularly if there was a lot of cold wind drying it out) it could have been damaged by that. I lost some plants last winter that should have been very hardy here because we got some unusually cold weather before they'd been in the ground long enough to get well established. I'm not an expert on these trees, but it could also be that there was something already wrong with it when you got it--I'm not sure of all the things that cause these trees to turn brown, but if there's a fungus or something that's responsible, then it was likely already there when you got the plant and nothing you did could have helped it.

It really looks like it went too dry at some point. Have you kept it well watered?

Thanks Ecrane and Growin!
There has been some freezing nights, Ecrane (-1 to-2°C) about a week ago, but the soil of the protected spot (i have an enclosed city garden) where I had planted it never got hard, it's also protected against any harsh winds ... and it was already in that pitiful state before the cold spell. Perhaps it could have been a fungus already present when I bought it like you suggest..


No, Growin, it never got dry at any stage, at least not from the point when I bought it.

I fell in love with that cultivar the first time I saw it. Too bad it doesn't have a chance up here where I am.

What is that root rot that lawsoniana's tend to get in North America? Could it be that?

Phytophthora. Here's a little blurb on it: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ldplants/chla.htm

No Phytophthora lateralis in Europe, but there are plenty of other Phytophthora species here, some of which do sometimes kill Lawson's Cypress.

Resin

Yes Leftwood I also fell for it the first time I saw it. When it's bigger it must give a wonderful poetic waterfall sight!

If it is a root rot fungus, Phytophthora lateralis, then perhaps I could find that out by checking the root ball ? What would be symptoms of it, just rot ?
And if that's the cause then its probably not wise to plant the same one in the same spot as the surrounding soil might got infected ?
Thanks for the link Growin.
According to that link its occurrence in Europe is not so common though...

Oh Resin, I only saw your post now.
I see, so it might be another type of Phytophthora then..

Phytophthora is one of the most difficult diseases to detect - the causal agent is microscopic, so it needs chemical analysis.

Phytophthora zoospores can remain in the soil for quite a long time (can be years, if I remember rightly), so re-infection when planting on the same site is a high risk.

Resin